Name: A. JAMES ELLIOTT and JANETTE PRATT

Title: Co-Directors, Professionalism Prog.

School: EMORY UNIVERSITY

Mailing Address:

GAMBRELL HALL

ATLANTA, GA 30322

Phone: 404-727-1075 (Dean Elliott)

Email: jelliott@law.emory.edu

Home Page:

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Summary Description:

Prior to 1998, entering students at Emory University School of Law participated in a modest professionalism program as a part of orientation. As an outgrowth of informal discussions about the level of professionalism within the law school community, this program was redesigned and expanded. As of the 1998-99 academic year, all first year and transfer students begin their professional career with a program, entitled “Orientation to Professionalism,” co-sponsored by the law school, the Professionalism Committee of the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism.

Initially, students are sworn into the legal profession by an appellate court judge. In that formal ceremony, students take an oath which states:

“I__________ as a student entering Emory University School of Law understand that I am joining an academic community and embarking on a professional career. The Law School community and the legal professional share important values that are expressed in the Emory Law School Professional Conduct Code. I have read the Code and will strive to conduct my academic, professional and personal life to honor those shared values.”

This oath, kept on file by the registrar, invokes jurisdiction for purpose of prosecution under the Professional Conduct Code, but far more importantly the ceremony serves to promote the values that under gird the profession within the law school community and to reorient the students from their prior academic context towards their professional future.

Following the general ceremony, students meet in small groups with volunteer members of the Bar and members of the law school faculty as co-leaders to discuss hypotheticals highlighting the kind of ethical dilemmas that they might face in law school. These groups meet again with the same co-leaders during the academic year to discuss additional hypotheticals. Each session has a slightly different focus. The earlier sessions focus on conduct in law school including the possible consequences of bad behavior upon the ability of the student to enter the legal profession. The later sessions turn the attention of the student towards transition into law practice.

Satisfactory participation in this program in the first year is required for all students.

At the end of the program, students receive a certificate of completion, signed by the law school Dean and by the appellate judge who swore them into the profession. Once again this emphasizes to the students, the value that we place on the program.

In addition to the first year program, each semester an upper level program is organized around the four core values found in the preamble of the Emory University School of Law Professional Conduct Code. Those values are Excellence, Respect, Integrity and Service. The format of these programs differs semester to semester, but has included presentations and panel discussions with judges, practitioners and senior members of the legal profession. All upper level students must participate in at least one of these programs prior to graduation.

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Program History:

During the 1997-98 academic year, an informal group of Emory faculty and senior administrators met to discuss ways in which to improve the level of professionalism within our community. We began to rethink the ways in which, in the past, we had introduced the ideas of ethics and professionalism to our student body and also to undertake substantial revision of our student Honor Code. The first undertaking was broader in scope than the second but the two were clearly related. The student and faculty dissatisfaction with the operation of our then Honor Code was symptomatic of the larger problem, that of a pervasive sense that the ideals of honesty, integrity and personal and professional responsibility were losing ground in our student body. Rumors that the environment at Emory Law School fostered cut throat competition had to be addressed.

Central to our thinking was the notion that law students become a part of the legal profession as soon as they enter law school. For years, we had given lip service to this idea. We felt that it was time to make it a reality. Student conduct within our community must be measured against the standards of professionalism expected of practicing attorneys. We wished, from the first year orientation forward, to reorient the students away from their undergraduate days and towards membership in the profession.

We felt strongly that members of the faculty should participate in this program so that students could see faculty and practicing attorneys in partnership. It is easy for students to think of faculty members and practitioners as occupying completely different worlds. Faculty members become professionalism role models for students. The Dean too has participated in the program as a group leader since its inception.

By dividing the first year students into small groups, each with a faculty and attorney leader, we encouraged the students to engage in frank discussion of questions of ethical and professional conduct with professionalism mentors both within and outside the law school community. We made attendance mandatory to underscore the importance that we attached to the enterprise. Likewise, the upper level programs organized each semester around the core values of our community are required.

The formal swearing in ceremony at orientation, which students are asked to attend in business attire, is important in setting the stage for this professionalism conversation. Requesting that the students dress in professional attire is part of our effort to construct their image of themselves as professionals.

Although there have been some changes in schedule and format over the five years since this program was adopted, the core of the first year program remains the same. The interaction of the volunteer attorneys, faculty members and students has been very positive. The Chief Justice’s Commission has been an enthusiastic co-sponsor of the program. There has never been any difficulty in finding volunteer attorneys to give their time to this endeavor. Many of the attorneys have participated in the program every session and every year since its inception. Attorneys earn continuing legal education credit for participation in the program; but many of them welcome this more as an opportunity to participate in the education of the next generation of lawyers and incidentally to reflect again on issues of professionalism and ethics that they confront in their own lives as practitioners.

To date over 1100 students have participated in the program. Approximately 650 students have graduated and entered the profession. Summary student evaluations are included with these materials but most valuable to us is the anecdotal evidence. As one student put it “I am glad to be going to a law school that cares about these things.”

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Confidential Items:

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Expanded Program Description (Optional):

The Emory program has two significant features. First, it seeks to foster a consensus on professionalism within the law school community through the on-going programs which involve all members of the student body. Second, it casts the discussion of misconduct in law school against the backdrop of a positive statement of values.

The specific goals and objectives are:

(1)to promote discussion of the meaning of professionalism within the law school community;

(2)to demonstrate to the students the common understanding of the

meaning and need for professionalism between the law faculty and attorneys in practice;

(3)to thoroughly acquaint students with the Professional Conduct Code;

(4)to encourage students to think about their responsibilities as members of the law school community;

(5)to identify the connection between the standards of conduct expected in law school and in the profession.

Students bring their own ideas about ethics and ethical behavior to law school. Many have attended colleges with an honor system. This program hopes to build on and to reinforce their personal code of ethics. One entering student remarked that he was relieved to find out that he didn’t have to abandon his own ethical values when he entered law school. It is a sad commentary upon the state of our profession that a student should think that he might be forced to compromise his own ethical standards to become a lawyer. It is that perception that we are attempting to address. We emphasize to our students that, contrary to that public perception, law school is a place where students and faculty alike are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior.

Prior to orientation, we contact all entering students to introduce them to the program. All first year students are assigned to sections for substantive courses and legal writing. There are six legal writing sections. Each of these sections is divided into three professionalism groups of approximately 10 students each. This group will remain together throughout the year. Students are given a handbook including hypotheticals to be discussed in the small group sessions. The handbook also contains their copy of the Professional Conduct Code. The Code, unlike the old Honor Code, contains a positive statement of our community values as well as the offenses and procedures for prosecution of students charged with offenses. This statement of values generated considerable interest amongst the volunteer lawyers and faculty members participating the program. It represents a new approach to thinking about professionalism within the law school community.

The hypotheticals that form the basis of the discussion at the first session focus on good and bad behavior generally. At the later sessions when students have experienced at least some weeks of law school, the hypotheticals are more sophisticated and in many cases are practice-based so that the students have to look at the Bar rules governing professional conduct for guidance. The constant interrelation between the rules found in the Professional Conduct Code and in the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct reinforces our view that students are really apprenticed members of the profession.

It is a challenge to develop a mixture of hypotheticals which demonstrate both possible immediate ethical dilemmas for law students and also illustrate ethical dilemmas that might face a practitioner. The prospect of law practice is far removed from a first year law student in his/her first days of law school. Hypotheticals drawing on practice situations therefore do not resonate with students in the same way as do hypotheticals related to bad student behavior such as cheating, seeking unfair advantage on an assignment, drinking or using drugs. In the earliest sessions, it is the faculty leaders who take the lead in the discussions. Later it is the attorney co-leaders who can bring their practice experience into the discussion of issues such as confidentiality, conflicts and client relations that will confront students in the work place.

For second and third year students, the program has varied in format. We have had an individual speaker or hosted panel discussions. Our panels and speakers are intentionally drawn from different areas of the profession. We have included public interest lawyers, corporate lawyers, practitioners with private firms or with the government and members of the judiciary. It is important that students learn that, despite the different practice contexts, all lawyers must adhere to the same high ethical and professional standards. All the sessions are designed to remind students of our core values of excellence, integrity, respect and service and to underscore the connection between our community and the legal profession.

We are constantly reassessing the specifics of the program. We seek feedback after every session and make adjustments as necessary. We have no empirical data to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program. We do, however, have the anecdotal data from student and leader evaluations that strongly suggest a very positive impact. It is our hope that they will carry a sense of professionalism and of the way that they should behave as Emory lawyers and as ethical practitioners throughout their legal careers.

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Supporting Materials:

(1) Materials for Orientation to Professionalism, 2002-2003

(2) Photographs taken at the first session of Orientation to Professionalism.

(3) Summary evaluations from participants.

(4) Sample certificate of completion.

(4) Copy of the letter awarding the Gambrell Award to the program in 1999.